1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of treating hydrocarbon contaminated water utilizing a hydrocarbon absorption media disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/227,654, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,639, which issued on Nov. 26, 2002, and is herein incorporated by reference. The apparatus and method of the present invention results in an almost maintenance-free way of substantially removing hydrocarbons from water having sheen found in parking lots, and a preferred embodiment is adapted to prevent and contain hydrocarbon spills in containment areas for electrical transformers or oil tanks.
2. Description of Related Art
Parking lots are coming under increasing scrutiny as sources of hydrocarbon contamination since automobile vehicles leaking fuel or oil mix with rain or storm water resulting in water having sheen which is discharged into streams and ground water. The difficulty is not just handling the hydrocarbons, but separating it efficiently and economically from a large quantity of water. Parking lots pose additional problems not found in other situations of hydrocarbon contamination. The large open spaces usually garner debris such as leaves, sticks and other fairly large objects in addition to sediment. Debris and sediment would clog any passive device used in filtering and removing the hydrocarbons and would likely create standing pools of water in the parking lot. Thus, it would be desirable to first filter out the debris and sediment prior to treating the hydrocarbon contaminated water such that the apparatus does not clog. Furthermore, given the potentially large amounts of debris and sediment found in a parking lot, it would also be desirable to have a device which allows easy access in removing the captured debris.
Another area of hydrocarbon contamination which has proven difficult in managing are containment areas for electrical transformers, oil tanks and other large sources of hydrocarbons. Usually, the problems are similar to those of parking lots, e.g., debris and sediment clogging any hydrocarbon filtration device. However, the danger occurs when there is a spill which may leak several thousand gallons of oil or other hydrocarbons into the environment and cause a fire hazard. Although the containment area may be sufficient to contain the spill, in the event of fire, many containment areas also have deluge systems which automatically start dousing the area with large amounts of water in an attempt to control or put out the fire. In these situations, a passive device to remove minor hydrocarbon contamination is no longer useful; agents used to absorb hydrocarbons which solidify upon absorption would clog any means of discharge and with the deluge system continuously pumping more water into the containment area, the containment area is no longer able to contain such a large volume of water. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a containment area which provides both passive means of filtration and removal of hydrocarbons and which, in the event of a fire, would provide a bypass system to control the volume of liquid within the containment area.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for and method of passive treatment of hydrocarbon contaminated water wherein the hydrocarbon contaminated water is rendered substantially hydrocarbon-free for discharge into a stream or ground water.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for and method of substantially containing a hydrocarbon spill in a containment area for electrical transformers, oil tanks or other sources of hydrocarbons to prevent discharge of hydrocarbons into the environment while maintaining a bypass system in the event of an overload of hydrocarbon contaminated water.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.